Childhood isn’t easy and neither is high school. Navigating the new social hierarchy, friend relationships, and elevated learning standards can be difficult for high school students, but when you have a learning difference, it can be overwhelming. At DeSales, support can be found from student services, teachers, and a dedicated learning specialist who understands that not all students learn the same. A specialist who provides students with the missing element of what they need to understand and demonstrate that understanding.
Some call her Mrs. P and others Mrs. Pohlmann, but DeSales High School learning difference coordinator Laura Pohlmann is known to the students of DeSales as one who truly understands what they are going through. Diagnosed with a learning difference herself, Mrs. Polhmann knows that learning can be a challenge to individuals of all intellectual abilities.
Growing up as a child of a father with dyslexia and sister to brothers who were also dyslexic, Mrs. Pohlmann spent many years during school and later in summer school tutoring other students during a dyslexia program. It wasn’t until later in college at Western Kentucky University that Mrs. Pohlmann first put a name to her learning challenge, ADHD. Like so many students that Mrs. Pohlmann helps each year, she truly understands that focus can be a challenge, but there are ways to help each student learn with the proper student accommodation plan.
“Everyone can learn. It is a matter of what you are doing to help them get there. If we realize developmentally there are ages and stages kids go through, we have to be willing to look at the support we are giving them. Just like a child learning to walk, we need to provide them with the learning support necessary like any other need,” said Mrs. Pohlmann.
A Career of Educational Support
Decades of work devoted to learning differences have given Mrs. Pohlmann the ability to bring out the best in each student. Over the years, Mrs. Pohlmann has worked with a child psychologist in tutoring and child advocacy, as a trainer for an educational product company, and on multiple school boards including St. Gabriel, Mercy Academy ad-hoc committee for learning differences, and Pitt Academy. Working with the Archdiocese of Louisville, Mrs. Pohlmann soon was tapped to join DeSales in 2006, and she hasn’t looked back as she focuses on supporting the young men to find out who each student is and how can their interests and abilities can be applied to make learning easier.
“These kids are intelligent. Just because they learn differently doesn’t take away from their talent level,” said Mrs. Pohlmann.
Personalized Learning Plans
Learning differences take many forms and there is not a one-size-fits-all approach that can be applied to a student’s challenge. Before a personalized learning plan is ever written, Mrs. Pohlmann is getting to know the student through conversations during events like open house, observing their learning while in primary school, speaking with their primary school counselor, and gathering testing data that can provide some idea of where they are currently are in their educational journey. Once the student decides DeSales will be their high school home, Mrs. Pohlmann continues her work providing input on the appropriate schedule and accommodations that are necessary to encourage educational growth.
Throughout the year, the student and parents met with Mrs. Pohlmann to evaluate the learning plan. Conversation with DeSales High School teachers is key to a student’s success. Together, faculty members and Mrs. Pohlmann seek to understand the young man’s learning needs. Through empowering teachers with educational opportunities throughout the year, faculty members can better understand issues that may affect the ability to process and retain information be it mentally, emotionally, or physically.
“Teachers here ‘get it’ when it comes to educating students who need more support,” said Mrs. Pohlmann when reflecting on the team approach to education gives students the learning and advocacy skills they need to be successful in the classroom and after graduation.
The ultimate goal is to provide students with both the educational skills and the advocacy skills necessary in adulthood. “These kids are intelligent. Just because they learn differently doesn’t take away from their talent level.”
Parent Involvement Remains High
Parent involvement in high school is as important as any other time in their lives. As emotional support, parents can listen, ask questions, and gauge the emotional barometer of their son. Do they enjoy school? Are there challenges not addressed? How can DeSales and the parent work together to provide the emotional support necessary to make for a smooth educational experience? Is there an emotional vulnerability that is affecting how the student learns?
Practical skills like understanding how to order food at a restaurant and interact with adults, time management, money management, and building healthy habits start at home. The task of the parents is to encourage independent skills while still providing any support necessary to master the task. For example, spending time looking at the school planner with your son can help remind him about what is upcoming but can also lead to conversations about what steps are necessary to get from where he is on the project to what needs to be completed. Modeling behavior and giving opportunities to practice the skill boosts confidence in students and is important in their developmental growth, which impacts learning success.
The DeSales Approach to Learning Differences
At DeSales High School, students are celebrated for being themselves and this extends to how they learn. For more information about the award-winning learning differences program, please contact DeSales High School at (502) 368-6519.